Beverage dispensing system



Aug. 7,*195'6 H. CAREW 2,757,839

BEVERAGE DISPENSING SYSTEM Filed Sept. ll, 1952 I r A n n INVENTOR 29 HERMAN GAREW ATTORNEY United States Patent Oce Patented Aug. 7, 1956 BEVERAGE DISPENSING SYSTEM Herman 'Carew, Easton, Pa., assignor to Dixie iCup Company, Easton, Pa., a corporation of 'Delaware Application September 11, 1952, Serial No. 309,091

1 Claim. (Cl. 226-19) regulating the ow of the water from a source under y pressure and in the case of the concentrate, the flow thereof under pressure either from a pump or a container maintained under pressure.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine which introduces the separate components into the receptacle in such a manner as to (a) ensure the uniform mixing of the separate components and (b) provide a small amount of the avoring concentrate on the surface of the mixed drink.

Hcretofore it commonly has been the practice in automatic beverage dispensing machine either, rst to permit the concentrate to ow in predetermined amount and then add the water, or to permit the components to ow simultaneously. In either system the mixing is poor and the concentrate being heavier than the water, there is a tendency for the former to sink toward the bottom of the receptacle, thus giving the beverage a preponderant flavor of water when it first touches the lips of the customer. This has an unfavorable effect on the latter, for regardless of the quantity of concentrate dispensed the major part of it tends to collect near the bottom of the receptacle. In an automatic machine no provision is made for subsequent stirring of the mixture and the customer served from such a machine is apt to feel that he has been deprived of the portion of concentrate for which he has paid.

According to the present invention the concentrate is uniformly dispersed in the diluent and, a small amount of the concentrate being added as the last step in the dispensing cycle, the predominance of the concentrate flavor is maintained. Thus, when the beverage first touches the customers lips he smells and tastes the concentrate first or at least a preponderance of concentrate diluted with only a relatively small amount of water.

An object of the invention therefore is to provide a novel machine for uniformly mixing in the receptacle into which they are dispensed separately, the concentrate and water components of a beverage, the components being dispensed in predetermined quantities from a machine particularly designed for such dispensing.

A more specic object is to provide a novel machine of the character aforesaid in which the concentrate is added to the receptacle or cup in timed sequential spurts while the water flows continuously.

Still another object is to provide a machine of the character aforesaid in which the nal portion of the beverage added to the receptacle is a small portion of the total 2 quantity of the ilavoring concentrate, this portion being added after the water ilow has ceased.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings wherein a specific machine of a type with which the invention may be practiced is shown and described. It will be readily apparent that the invention may be practiced with other types of machines and that the machine here shown is used for illustrative purposes only.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a beverage dispensing machine adapted to employ the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view partly in vertical section, showing a syrup or concentrate pump for such a machine together with the cam for operating the pump and the operating connections between the cam and the pump.

Fig. 3 is a View in elevation,v of a valve for controlling the flow of water in such a machine from a source under pressure, together with the cam for operating said valve.

Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of a cup or receptacle with the dispensed beverage therein, the latter being shown in idealized stratified layers and not mixed.

Referring to the drawings, a shaft 10 is shown as driven by a motor M. Obviously this shaft may be driven by any power source or it may be hand-operated. The shaft is shown as carrying a pair of cams 11 and 12 thereon and adapted to be rotated therewith.` Cam 11 is adapted to operate the stem 13 of a normally closed valve 14 which controls the ilow of water under pressure from a source 15 thereof to a duct 16, the discharge end 17 of which is Y disposed adjacent and above the cup or receptacle 18.

The concentrate or syrup pump 20 is shown as being of the piston and cylinder type in which the piston 24 reciprocates in the cylinder 25. The cam 12 serves to control operation of the stern 19 of a concentrate or syrup pump 20, the latter, together with its operating connections with the cam, being shown in detail in Fig. 2. Pump 2t) draws syrup or concentrate from a suitable source through a conduit 21 and discharges it under pressure through a conduit '22, the outlet end 23 of conduit 22 also being disposed above the receptacle 18 adjacent the discharge end 17 of water duct 16. l

The syrup or concentrate pump is shown as being of the piston and cylinder type in which a piston 24 reciprocates in the cylinder 25. The piston is attached to stem 19, the latter extending upwardly beyond the cam 12. The stem has a follower 26 attached thereto at its outer end adjacent the camlZ and in contact with that cam. Normally the piston is forced to the discharge end of the cylinder 2S by a spring 27 interposed between the inner end 28 of the cylinder and the piston 24. l

The lobe 30 of cam 12 has a stepped outer surface and is so constructed that when the part of the lobe farthest l from the center of the cam shaft engages the follower 26, the piston 24 is fully retracted against pressure of spring 27. This constitutes the intake stroke of the pump during which concentrate is drawn from its source through conduit 21,` past checkv `valve 29 and through duct l31 to the interior of the cylinder 25.k The quantity of concentrate so admitted is that intended to be ldischarged in making a single drink.

lt will be noted that the lobe 3i) of cam l2 is stepped, that is, it is provided with successive portions 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36, each of which is of decreasing distance from its outer edge to the center of the cam shaft 10. That is, each of these portions is a different distance from the center of the shaft. By this arrangement, on the discharge stroke the spring 27 forces the piston 24 down in intermittent steps, the length of time the piston is inactive during each step of the discharge stroke being determined by the overall length of each successive portion of the lobe. Each of the portions 32, 33, 34, and 35 is formed as the arc of a circle centered on the axis of shaft so that while that portion contacts the follower 26 the spring 27 cannot move the piston 24 further down in the cylinder. Consequently only a predetermined portion of the total quantity of syrup available in the cylinder is discharged each time one of these cam portions releases the piston. The syrup is discharged from the pump through duct 37, check valve 38 and duct 22 to the cup 18.

When the follower 26 drops to the lobe portion 36, the piston 24 reaches the lowermost end of the discharge stroke. It will be noted that the lobe portion 36 gradually' increases in radius as it approaches the portion 32. Thus, after all the concentrate has been discharged, the piston is raised gradually to draw a fresh charge of concentrate into the cylinder. The dispensing system is so timed that it shuts off just after the leading edge of portion 32 engages the follower 26.

The number of steps on the cam lobe is determined by experience and test as determined by the quantity and nature of the concentrate to be dispensed.

It will be understood that the particular pump shown is exemplary only and that any suitable pump or pressure source may be used. Also, the cam structure described may be replaced by other mechanical or electrical equipment designed to give intermittent syrup ow.

The lobe 39 of water valve control cam 11 is so designed that it opens the valve 14 immediately whenthe operation of the system is initiated and maintains the valve open continuously until it is closed just at the time the follower 26 drops off the surface 35 of cam 12. This action permits the pump to discharge the remaining portion of concentrate in the pump cylinder on the surface of the mixture already discharged and thus ensures that the customer will rst contact and smell concentrate when his lips first touch the drink.

It has been pointed out that the follower 26 is supported on the leading edge of cam surface 32 at the beginning of the dispensing cycle. However, that surface being the arc of a circle centered on the axis of the cam shaft, the piston is not released until the surface 32 has been rotated far enough to permit the follower 26 to drop off surface 32 and onto the succeeding surface 33. In the meantime the water ow has been started immediately at the beginning of the dispensing cycle so that a predetermined quantity of water ows into the receptacle 18 before any concentrate is discharged from the pump 20.

As the cam 12 is rotated the follower 26 drops in successive steps to each of surfaces 33, 34, 35 and 36 and it stays on each of those surfaces until the rotation of the cam permits it to drop to the next succeeding surface` It has been stated that each of these surfaces is the arc of a circle centered on the axis of shaft 10. Thus, as long as the follower rests on each surface the pump is inactive and does not discharge any concentrate until after that surface releases the follower to the next surface. This means that the concentrate is discharged in successive squirts, the timing between squirts being determined by the length of the respective arcs on the successive steps, instead of continuously as has been the previous practice, with the last squirt being added after the water ow has been shut o. However all the other squirts take place while the water is owing, with the result that the water and concentrate are intimately mixed.

To recapitulate, the sequence is (1) a predetermined portion of water, (2) a predetermined portion of water and concentrate concurrently, (3) a predetermined quantity of water, (4) a predetermined quantity of water and concentrate concurrently, (5) a predetermined quantity of water and (6) a nal squirt of concentrate after the water flow has been shut olf. The intermediate steps between 1 and 6 may be repeated in the sequence described by using a different cam construction.

Obviously the quantity of water permitted to flow freely at the beginning of the dispensing cycle, the quantities of concentrate and water discharged in the intert mediate steps, and the quantity of concentrate used in the final squirt are variables depending on the nature and quantity of concentrate to be dispensed.

The showing in Fig. 4 of a receptacle containing a beverage dispensed according to the present invention, is

t purely schematic and does not represent any particular ratio of concentrate to water nor does the concentrate in fact stratify as here indicated. Actually, the concentrate being heavier than the water and being agitated by the concurrently flowing water, mixes intimately with the water to produce a uniform mixture, except that the last portion of concentrate tends to stay near the surface with the resultant gains described above.

In practicing the invention alternate ways of adding the concentrate in successive and intermittent squirts may be employed and all such ways are considered within the scope of the invention as described and claimed.

What is claimed is:

In a machine from which a potable beverage comprising predetermined quantities of a single liquid avoring component and a water component arc dispensed automatically from separate sources under pressure and are thoroughly and uniformly mixed in a common portable receptacle during a single cycle of operation of the machine, means for initiating the ow of the water component into said receptacle instantly at the start of the dispensing cycle and for maintaining said water flow until just prior to the termination of the complete beverage dispensing cycle, means for terminating the ow of the water component at the time aforesaid, means for initiating the ow of the liquid avoring component into said receptacle after the ow of the water component has begun, means for intermittently stopping and starting the ow of the liquid avoring component into said receptacle after its ow has been initiated as aforesaid and during the ow of the major portion of the water component, and means for terminating the ow of said liquid avoring component at the termination of the full beverage dispensing cycle ot' operation of said machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,346,290 Carlson Apr. ll, 1944 2,462,019 Bowman Feb. l5, 1949 2,569,486 Mills Oct. 2, 1951 2,612,304 Nissen Sept. 30, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 118,118 Australia Feb. 24, 1944 

